'He's changed...' you smiled.

Only now were you taking in the other details about him. He was only wearing an orange cowboy hat on his back and some black shorts.

'Where the hell did his top go?'

He had two tattoos. One which you'd assumed was his crew and the other was A.S.C.E with the S crossed out. He also had on a strong of red beads. He was much taller than you now, and definitely much stronger compared to when you were kids. But he still felt as warm as he had before, if not, warmer.

In the distance you could see Ace's friends waiting for you both to finish. You'd completely forgotten about the other people on the beach with you. Your face flushed from pure embarrassment.

'Oh my gosh I can't believe I just cried in front of strangers! I look like a mess after chasing the paper! And Ace is still holding me!' You internally screamed

"Go and die in your own time old man" Ace grumbled loudly, still face buried in your neck.

"Rude yoi! We came here to support you" he said.

"I never asked you to come!" Ace whipped his head around and growled.

"Leave them be Marco. Look! You're embarrassing her!" Thatch gestured to your very red face.

"A-Ace... c-can you put me down?" You muttered patting his shoulder.

"Hmmm.... Nah!" He grinned.

'Did I say he's changed, never mind' you sighed

"P-Please Ace...I promise I won't leave" you reassured.

He searched your eyes and then gently set you down on the sand. You smiled up at him then turned to his supposed friends who now approached you.

"I'm really sorry that you've had to see me in such a state without proper introduction. My name is (Y/n)! I want to thank you for looking after Ace in the time that I couldn't. I know he's a handful but he's very important to me... so please continue to look after him" you bowed towards his friends.

"(Y/n)..." Ace whined quietly.

"Whoa Whoa Whoa...! Ace how did you manage to get such a polite young lady like her." Thatch said in disbelief. "And hide her for this long!"

"Not just that-yoi! She's gorgeous! No wonder you didn't want us to come! Trying to keep her all to yourself!" He smirked and grabbed your hand. "Please tell me, what are your thoughts on dating older men"

You were now one with the tomatoes.

"W-Wait what?!... I-I... W-Well I... uh" you stuttered.

'This man is soo smooth! How do I even respond to a question like that?!' Your head spun.

"Hey! Stop that! You're being rude!" Thatch said "At least introduce yourself before you start making advances to her"

"You're right... I'm very sorry about that (y/n). My name is Marco and I am the 1st division commander of the Whitebeard pirates. It's a pleasure to meet you-yoi." He kissed your hand whilst keeping direct eye-contact.

"Would you stop!" Ace yelled swinging at Marco.

Marco dodged the attack, and in doing so, he released you. He smirked at Ace who was basically bracing for a fight. You slowly backed away towards the other man.

"Should we do something about them?..." You whispered to him in concern.

"Nah! Don't worry about them, this always happens." Thatch sighed "My name is Thatch by the way. I'm the 4th division commander if the Whitebeard pirates. I hope we can get along" he held out his hand and you shook it.

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The fight was starting to get a bit heated so Thatch intervened and had somehow managed to pry Marco and Ace off of each other. They followed you back to where your bag was and to your house. The whole way they were telling you stories of their adventures and how they all met. How awesome whitebeard is and how Ace's dream to become pirate king changed because of Whitebeard.

"I'm not exaggerating (y/n) when I say he tried to kill pops every day-yoi" Marco laughed as he followed you into your home.

"And every day he got whooped" Thatch smiled.

"That does sound like something Ace would do" you laughed

"Come on (y/n) don't laugh at me" Ace moaned.

"I'm sorry but it's just reassuring to know that you're surrounded by such accepting people. I'm really happy you found that place" You beamed and he pulled his hat down to hide his blush.

You ran into the back room and poured three glasses of sake. You then came back and placed the cups down in front of each person. You then went to get some water for yourself.

'I can't get drunk before the festival and when I'm hosting... ah yes... the sober life for me' you sighed.

You sat next to Ace in the living room facing Marco and Thatch.

"So (y/n), has anything interesting happened to you since you left-yoi" Marco asked as they all took a sip.

"I'm not sure if you'd class it as interesting but I guess I'm known as the ideal housewife in this town. As a result I've been proposed to five times now."

"Oh my gosh are you guys ok?! Is it the alcohol?!" You quickly ran to Get some tissues to clean the mess.

"The sake is fine (y/n)" Thatch said trying to compose himself.

"Maybe I misheard you (y/n), did you just say that f-five people have already proposed to you?!" Ace verified

"Yes, you heard me right! Geez you guys making such a big fuss over a little thing." You sighed taking a sip of your water.

Ace's hat shaded his face.

"So does that mean you're engaged to the person who gave you that bracelet?" He asked seriously.

"YOU STILL CONTRADICT YOURSELF!?!" Ace yelled

"N-NO! That's not what this is! This was a parting gift from a pirate I helped. He said that the symbol on it would show that I'm under his protection." You explained as you tried to cover your face.

All three guys looked at each other then looked back at you.

"That sounds a lot like a proposal to me..." Ace growled as he cracked his knuckles.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it that way" you laughed nervously at Ace's dark aura.

"Hey (y/n) let me take a look at the insignia on the back" Ace smiled darkly

"NO WAY! You'll hunt him down and murder him! I can tell from the look in your eyes" You covered your bracelet. "Besides he also helped me from an aggressive proposal! He's not a bad person! I promise!" You begged

"C'mon Ace... she seems to know what she's doing!" Thatch smiled. "Besides didn't you have some thing you wanted to show her."

Ace paused and then smiled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to you.

"Open it" he encouraged.

You slowly unfolded the paper and what you saw made you smile. It was Luffy's bounty.

"He's really gone and done it now! He hasn't changed a bit" you giggled.

"Hey Ace? How long are you gonna hide her from pops? He's gonna love her! May even kidnap her-yoi" Marco laughed as you paled slightly at the thought.

"I guess you're right..." Ace sighed. "We could probably take her tomorrow"

"I can't tomorrow! It's the festival of freedom and I'm preforming in it" You mumbled the last part.

"You should all come! There'll be lots of drinks, food and entertainment! You can even stay the night if accommodation is a problem" You offered.

"I was planning to stay. This is my home after all" Ace smirked. " I guess we can introduce you to pops afterwards."

"Do you normally offer accommodation to dangerous pirates?" Thatch asked cautiously.

"Just the ones that need it. You guys are friends of Ace, he sees you as brothers, so I guess in a sense this is your home too" You smiled.

"So pure!" They all covered their faces as if you were radiating a holy light.

"I'd love to meet Whitebeard" you continued. "But will it really be ok? I haven't really got anything to offer and I'm already making him wait"

"He doesn't really care for formalities unless you're a pirate-yoi. But if he gives you trouble I'm sure he'll be fine if we offer to give him grand kids" Marco leaned towards you and smiled.

'I offer to give him what now!' Your face exploded.

"Marco! Stop teasing her!" Thatch scolded.

"But she's so cute-yoi! I can't help it!" He laughed still watching you squirm and fiddle with your hair under his gaze.

"Oi! You damn pineapple! Do you mind?" Ace growled.

"I don't actually" Marco smirked

"Why you-!" You grabbed Ace's hand before he stood.

"There is one rule in my house and that is no fighting. If you want to fight, take it outside. Understand?" You eyed both of them.

They all nodded and gulped.

"Good!" You clapped your hands. "Now I'm gonna start cooking dinner. I'm sure you're all hungry and tired. There are two guest bedrooms and then a master bedroom. If you all want to pick where you-!"

"NO MARCO!" Ace and Thatch yelled.

"I didn't even say anything" he threw his hands in the air.

"It was probably along the lines of 'I'll sleep wherever (y/n) is' So the answer is no!" Ace yelled and Thatch nodded.

"Fine..." Marco sighed

"Let me help you cook (y/n). I'd hate to just sit around and do nothing" Thatch stated more than offered as he walked into your kitchen.

You laughed at their antics and followed after Thatch to cook. Although he ended up doing most of the work. He was incredibly efficient and clean. You were definitely impressed.

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In the end you'd made a grand feast. You all tucked in, chatting and laughing along the way. You witnessed Ace's narcolepsy and screamed thinking he'd died. Thatch had to continually pat your back and assure you that he was ok as you sobbed. When Ace did wake he felt so bad he'd made you cry he showed you his devil fruit and did tricks to get you to smile. It really suited him.

It was night time and the arrangements were Thatch and Marco in the guest rooms and you and Ace together in the master bedroom. Thatch and Marco retreated to bed early. So it was just you and Ace in the living room. Ace was resting his head on your lap as he laid across the sofa. You were sat there just messing around with his hair as the moonlight shone through the windows.

"It was a kind of a night like this when I told you who my father was." Ace stared at the ceiling.

"Yeah. Everyone was asleep and the moon was out" you reminisced.

"That night was really important to me (y/n). You accepted me for who I was, not what he was" Ace looked into your eyes. "It was that night I promised I'd keep you by my side, even if it killed me. I was so angry at myself for letting you slip away the way you did."

"Ace I already told you that I-"

"(Y/n)! I've finally found you. I've been given a chance to redeem myself. I promise you... that I'll always be by your side... always."

He was serious. You could see the fire in his eyes blazing with pure determination, though that could've just been his powers. Heat rose to your cheeks and you smiled.

"I don't remember my Ace being this forward" you giggled. "What happened to my fireball?"

"Geez (y/n) I was being serious..." Ace grumbled and blushed in embarrassment.

"I know..." you sighed happily.

You brushed strands of hair from his forehead and gently planted a kiss there. Poor Ace went completely red. You laughed a bit as you stood to go upstairs to bed.

'He's back... and I'm glad'

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